IDLI RAVA NOMBU ADAI

Karadayan nombu adai is made for the Nombu by South Indians.  Normally, it is made with roasted rice flour  both  sweet and savory.  I tried the same with ragi  both savory and sweet and was quite good. 

Recently, one of my friend gave me the savory version  made with coarse ground rice.  It was quite tasty and hence I thought of trying with the idli rava.  I had a packet of rava lying in my fridge so I took the opportunity to try the same.  Since I did not have the stock of Karamani, I made it without that and was quite tasty.

Shall post the photographs after making the same with karamani (black eyed pea, lobia) shortly but presently posting the photo without that.  The preparation is very simple.

Let us look at the recipe now:

idli rava nombu adai

DRUMSTICK SOUP

The market is flooded with lots of drumstick and I happened to buy this for trying various dishes.  Today I tried the soup and liked it hence I am sharing with you all since it has got lots of health benefits.

The drumstick plant is also known by its scientific name moringa oleifera or by its name the horseradish tree, or, has been known to have many health benefits. The Health benefits of drumstick flowers and leaves and other parts of the tree are use in traditional medicine, various culinary applications, use for cleaning dirty water and its extraordinary nutritional value. There are many benefits that come from this tree and these are obtained from its flowers, leaves, juice and seeds.

 The main health benefits of drumstick flowers and leaves are in the nutritional quality of these parts of the plant as well as the seeds. These parts of the plant are rich in Vitamin B1, B2, B3, Vitamin A, and vitamin C. There are also the minerals calcium, iron, phosphorus and magnesium to be found in these parts of the tree as well. The juice is highly nutritious and an ounce of it is said to contain the same quantity of calcium as 4 glasses of milk, the vitamin C of 7 oranges and the potassium of seven bananas, and a reasonable level of iron. Added to a glass of milk it may help promote energy, strengthen children's bones, aid in purifying the blood and adds to the nutrition of pregnant women.

SEV KHAMANI

Sev Khamani is a popular  dish from Surat hence the name Surti Sev Khamani.  It is a popular Gujarati dish which can be served as a snack or as a breakfast. 

Basically, it is made out of chana dal.  But  I have used the moongdal for making this dish. I have made it very simple so that you can also follow the same method for making it easily at home.

It takes a lot of time (for soaking the chana dal for 4 to 5 hours), grind it,steam it and then cook it with tempering.  But the hard work is fruitful as you would love to eat again and again.

Now let us look at the recipe with the Moongdal.  Shall post the recipe with chana dal soon.

Surti Sev Khamani

LOTUS SEED RICE

I have already posted Lotus seed subzi and Soup yesterday.  Now I have to post the pickle and the rice which I tried yesterday.  You tube: lotus seed rice

The rice which I made was excellent with the lotus seed.  I am quite lazy to write a big story about the dish and must have noticed that most of my recipes are narrated shortly.  Here I have no patients to write about it as I have already described about the lotus and seed in the Soup and Subzi recipe.

POHA KESARI

Any festival or occasion is incomplete without a sweet dish.  Sweet dishes are always required for some people especially after having lunch.  I crave for some sweets after lunch if not a piece of chocolate.

Poha kesari is a sweet dish made out of poha or aval or beaten rice or rice flakes.  It is very easy to make and tasty too like other kind of kesari we make with Suji/rava/semolina.  If you add sugar to any item, you can make anything and everything and it will be tasty because it is sweet.  

Since I always want to eat something sweet after having my lunch, I keep on searching for some kind of sweets in the fridge.  If I do not find anything, I eat a piece of jaggery or bit sugar.   

Poha kesari is a simple preparation and can be made for any occasions.  If you are having unexpected guests, this is an ideal sweet to serve as dessert.

KHANDVI

Khandvi rolls are favorite snack dish of my husband and children.  Whenever, we pass by the shop TIP TOP, we never miss buying this stuff and the Alu vadi.

This is a popular Gujarati dish made out of gram flour and butter milk.  I never made an attempt to make this khandvi at home since I thought it will be a difficult task.  But somehow, I made up my mind and thought of trying it.  I have gujarati and marwadi friends and asked for the recipe as they know well about it.

They happily shared the recipe with me as they know that I am having a blog and the next post will be this recipe in my blog.

After learning the same, I made it four or five times and it came out well.  Infact when I  made the same for the first time, it came out well but the rolls were bit thick.  Then I decided to practice it and made four or five times.  Today, I shared the same with my friends and they all said that it came out well.

Now I am confident of making this stuff and need not go to TIP TOP as I found the same very easy to make.  Infact I have to try with only half cup of gram flour as it is sufficient for my husband and children.

Now let us look at the recipe now:

KHANDVI

PANEER POTATO BONDA

Paneer potato bonda is a very tasty snack item.  I had one potato boiled and more than 50 gms paneer with me.  My daughter wanted to eat the chilli bhajia so I had made some besan batter for making the bhajia.

Since there were some left over batter, I thought of trying this bonda.  It was really awesome when I served it bot with some tomato sauce over a cup of tea or coffee.

Very easy to make with available ingredients at home.  So let us look at the recipe now:

paneer potato bonda

WATER MELON CHUTNEY

During summer season, we always buy lots of water melon and I used to preserve the white portion of it to make varieties of dishes out of it.   the link is here:    Rasam, curry, juice , kootu,  kheer, dosa   halva, pickle.

The most liked one was the halva which I had sent to my husband's office for his birthday.  The chutney made out of the white portion of the water melon was very tasty with the dosa today.   You can always try some different varieties when you are bored of the regular chutneys served.

 Let us look at the recipe now:

WATER MELON PICKLE

Pickle season is on and we make various pickle.  I always try something different.  Today I tried the water melon white portion chutney and pickle and was awesome.  Chutney I served with dosa today and pickle with curd rice.

I have already posted various recipes with water melon white portion.

 the link is here: Rasam, curry, juice , kootu,  kheer, dosa   halva 

Let us look at the recipe now:

Water melon pickle

AJWAIN PATHA THOKKU

Pickles are my favourtie.  Recently I  made pickles with vazhathandu, black grapes and have posted already.  Today I tried the ajwain patha drink and the thokku.

Since the patha is edible, having medicinal values, I tired the thokku.  It is similar to our normal thokku nothing special about it and easy to make.  So let us look at the recipe now:

AJWAIN PATHA DRINK

THIS IS A HEALTHY SUMMER COOLER.  Summer is on.  We have to hydrate our body to escape from the scorching sun.  Your intake will be less and feel like having something cold always.

During summer, we must have more salads, fruits, juices and coconut water.  My mother in law will start giving children coconut water right from February till the raining season.   Cucumber, water melon has lot of water contents in it so we must conusme more of these during summer.

Coming back to the ajwain patha drink, ajwain patha is known as oma elai, karpooravalli elai, pani koorka elai which is very good for health and got medicinal values.  We make bhajia, paratha also with these leaves.  I used to put this in for making kashayam too.

Today I made thokku with these leaves and the drink also.  Let us look at the recipe now:

Ajwain patha drink

CARROT, MOONGDAL, LAPSI HALVA

Today is my elder brother's birthday and I would like to take some sweets for him.   First I thought, will take a cake and give him a surprise visit.  Since he goes to the temple for bhajan in the evening, I have to inform them otherwise big Godrej lock will be in front me if I go to his house.

Today, being Ekadashi and Saturday also, he will be fasting will not eat anything.   Finally, I thought of making this halva since Moongdal and lapsi are used for fasting, I thought of adding carrot into it to make halva.

Recently, I made Carrot  Moongdal payasam  and was a hit in my house as well as neighbours liked it.

This halva is also very tasty, simple one and can be had by anyone.

Let us look at the recipe now:

BREAD VADA

Spicy snacks with a cup of tea/coffee during the rainy season is always welcome.  But normal days also, you can enjoy the snacks with the coffee/tea.

I am always in search of new snack recipes which can be made easily withe the available ingredients at home.

I was having four slices of bread so thought of making this vada.  Mix up of few ingredients  here and there makes an innovative recipe and  that is the best one you must have made in a hurry sometimes.

Let us look at the recipe now:

bread vada

APPLE PICKLE

Recently, I have posted the Apple Chutney Recipe.   Apple Pickle is another recipe which I made  long back and shared with www.simpleindianrecipes.com.  Here I am presenting a different version of apple pickle which is very tasty.

You can choose green apple or the red apple and the normal apple which is locally available.  Pickles can be preserved for a long time.  But this pickle has to be consumed fresh hence better to make the quantity required for one or two time serving.

APPLE PICKLE

Let us look at the recipe now:

APPLE CHUTNEY

Chutneys can be served with dosa, idli, upma etc.  I try various kinds of chutney  with vegetables, fruits which are easy to make and readily available at home.  Today I made Apple chutney to serve with dosa.  It was very delicious.  You can make this chutney with very few ingredients which are always available at home.

If you have grated coconut stored in the fridge, then you can make any kind of chutney at home very easily.

Let us look at the recipe now:

METHI POHE VADE

Methi Pohe Vade is  made with left over Kanda Poha which I had in the fridge.  Since I do not wan to waste it, I thought of making something out of it.

I had some methi leaves in the fridge and I made use of that to make this YUMMY Methi Pohe Vade.  It is a nice snack along with a cup of hot coffeee/tea.  Sometimes, with the left over items, we can make some innovative dishes.

This post is lying in my draft since July 2015 and today only I realised that I have not posted it.



Let us look at the recipe now:

BLACK GRAPES PICKLE

I am coming out with yet another pickle recipe which is with a fruit.  Black seedless grapes are available now and I tried the pickle with it.  Since it was very sweet, I had to add extra chilli powder to balance it with vinegar.

Since the grapes are very soft, it will not take much time to  make this recipe.  If refrigerated, will remain for 3-4 days but before that you must have finished the entire lot as you will love them.

This can be served with dal rice, curd rice, paratha etc.  Now the season is of pickle, I am concentrating more on pickles.

Let us look at the recipe now:

VAZHATHANDU COCONUT DRINK

During the summer season, my mother in law always give coconut water to drink for my children.  In fact in the month of February itself, she starts giving them till the rainy season starts.  This practice I also follow till today after her death in 2009.

Fresh Coconut water itself is very cooling to the body.  Since I was having vazhathandu after making the vazhandu neer mor, I decided to make it along with the coconut water as I had an extra tender coconut with me.

VAZHATHANDU COCONUT DRINK

Let us look at the recipe now:

VAZHATHANDU NEER MOR

Vazhathandu means banana stem or stalk you can call it has got many medicinal values and good for health.  The juice consumed in the empty stomach early in the morning helps to get rid of kidney stone problems.

We always add this to our menu once in a week.  We can make varieties of dishes out of this, however, this drink is quite good in quenching your thirst during the summer.

vazhathandu neer mor

Let us look at the recipe now:

VAZHATHANDU THOKKU

Vazhathandu l Unnipinndu l Unnithandu l Banana stem is very good for health.  South Indians make various subzi, pakoras, pickle, Karuvadam etc. out of this.  Its juice is taken in empty stomach to treat for Kidney stones.

 

As I mentioned in the kovakkai thokku, I am a big fan of pickles and tries with various vegetables and fruits.

I had purchased a big vazhathandu with the intention of trying something out of it other than the regular thoran, raita, sambhar, pachadi, kootu, chutney, soup, kofta sambhar, kofta kadhi, vazhathandu bhajia etc.

Today I had some guests and want to try something special for them.  I made Carrot moongdal kheer and the Vazhathandu thokku.  Both the dishes were enjoyed by them.

Let us look at the recipe now:

CARROT MOONGDAL PAYASAM

Payasam or Kheer is liked  by every one.  I am bored of making the normal Paal Payasam, Nei Payasam, Vella Payasam etc. which are common in our house for the  festivals, Sumangali Prarthanai, Shradham etc.

I always make changes in our routine and try something different always for guests if they come to our house for lunch or dinner.

Today, I tried the carrot moongdal payasam and was a hit.  The preparation is very easy and the dish is very tasty too without much sugar added in it.

It tastes more yummy, when it is served chilled.

Let us look at the recipe now:

ADA MANGAI, DRIED SPICY MANGOES

ADA MANGAI is a spicy dried mango pieces stored for years together i.e. a year or two.  My grand mother is from Palakkad and we had a house there the village called Pallanchathanur.

During Mango season, my grand mother makes this ada mangai and we used to go to the back yard to put them for drying.  We used to make ada mangai kootan or curry which is served with hot rice and roasted papad.

You can either cut the mangoes in pieces or  cut both the sides of the mangoes and apply salt and chilli powder  and dry them.  This year shall try to make with the whole mango and upload photo.

You  must select the mangoes  which are sour in taste.  Wash and cut the same into pieces.
Add salt and little turmeric powder, red chilli powder.  keep for a day.   Next day you can see that little water has oozed out in it.   Take out the  mango pieces and dry it in the hot sun.
Evening bring back from the terrace and put it back in  the salt water. Again remove it in the morning and keep for drying.  Repeat the process till the salt water gets over.
Once it is dried fully, store it in the airtight container and whenever you want you can use it.   remember, the more it becomes old, the more tastier the curry.

Hope you will enjoy this forgotten recipe.

THANKS FOR VISITING THE BLOG.  YOUR SUGGESTIONS ARE WELCOME.

CARROT RICE

Delhi carrots are still available now and during the season, I prefer to use this carrot.  The English carrot my children do not prefer.

Varieties of rice preparation have been posted in the blog.  I observed that I have not posted the Carrot Rice.  Though my daughter prefer to eat the carrot raw and does not like the cooked one except for carrot payasam, carrot halva.  In pulao also she used to tell me mummy do not put carrot.  One evening when I asked her what to make for dinner, she said carrot rice.  I was happy to make the same.

It is a simple preparation with mild spice  and tasty too.  All children love the same.  We use less spice hence even small childlren in our neighbourhood enjoy our food.

Let us look at the recipe now:

CARROT RICE

KOVAKKA THOKKU

I am a fan of pickle.  varieties of pickles I try even though I know that eating too much of pickle is harmful to our health which increases acidity due to the stressful life we are leading now a days.  But sometime, we need the pickle as accompaniment as pickle is part of our Indian food.

We make pickles usually with Mango, Lime, Wild lime, gooseberry etc.  Now a days, I have started trying the pickles with vegetables and fruits.

I have already posted one kovakkai pickle but this one is thokku in a different form. This pickle was appreciated by my colleagues and friends as they liked it very much.

Kovakkai thokku

video:

CARROT JUICE

Carrots are available in India in two varieties  - one is Delhi Carrot and another one is English carrot.  

Most of the benefits of carrots can be attributed to their beta carotene and fiber content.  This root vegetable is also a good source of antioxidant agents.  Further, carrots are rich in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B8, pantothenic acid, folate, potassium, iron, copper and manganese.

My children prefer to eat carrots raw and do not like to cook them.  If I put in kichadi or pulao, they remove them and keep aside.  Hence I always give them in the form of salad only.

My son always prefer to drink something cold always hence I very often make juice out of it.

Since summer is fast approaching, I thought of posting some juice recipes.

ORANGE JUICE

Orange is a juicy fruit  which containts Vitamin C and fiber.  They are good source of folate, Vitamin A (in the form of cartenoids), B1, potassium, copper etc.    It also helps in protecting the skin, fight against viral infections,  helps prevent  cancer, lower cholesterol, regulates high blood pressure, kidney diseases and stones.

The fruit is very juicy and consuming as it is I prefer.  Sometimes my children wants juice so I make juice out of it and give them.  I always give them the seasonal fruits.

It it is sweet, then no need to add sugar, otherwise you may have to add little bit sugar.  The best way to make the juice is through a hand juicer or a plain juicer to get the juice out.  I prefer the plain juicer.

ORANGE JUICE

SOUPY BRINJAL CURRY

Soup brinjal curry I made was very easy and tasty too.  If you have some unexpected guests, this curry is very easy to make provided you have brinjal at home.   You can use potato, capsicum, onion and other veggies too to make this.  We can serve it along with rice, chapati, roti etc.

Normally in my house, my husband and children do not eat the brinjal but I am a fan of this.  I love to eat in the form of baingan bharta, bharleli vangi or brinjal dry subzi or poricha kuzhambu with raw banana and karamani.

I bought a big brinal to make bharta as my friends were supposed to come, but it got cancelled.  Hence I had no choice but to make the brinjal curry and took it to office to share with my colleagues.

You can either use the big one or small purple colour brinjals which we use for ennai kathrikkai.

SOPUPY BRINJAL CURRY

KOVAKKAI PORIYAL, IVY GOURD STIR FRY

Kovakkai, ivy gourd, thenli, tindora it is known as.  The white fleshy part of the thenli tastes like cucumber.  We can make kootu, stir fry subzi, along with black chana and pickles too. It can be served as a side dish for chapati, rice etc.

This vegetable contains Vitamn C, also filled with the set of vitamins such as beta-carotene, Vitamin A, Vitamin B1 & B2, in addition the properties of anti-anaphylactic as well as anti-histaminic.  It is believed that consumption of this veggie helps to lower fever. The prsence of anti oxidants in this veggie assists our body by eliminating various illness conditions, as per the study.

MANATHAKALI LEAF SOUP

I have posted the Manathakali Vathal Kuzhambu few minutes ago.  Now I am presenting you  the soup  which I made today  with the leaves as my neighbour's son was having some stomach issues and not eating the food for the past five days.  Since the manathakali leaves got the medicinal values and are good for the stomach, I decided to make the soup for him with the coconut milk.

After making the same, when I gave it to the mother for tasting it, she said it is really awesome.  Most of the parents are not aware of the herbal values and the home made medicines specially for the children.

Since I had the plant in my balcony garden, I could make it very easily and share it.

Manathakali leaves soup

UNDHIYO

Undhiyo is a Gujarati dish prepared with varieties of subzis available.  During winter, this is prepared as the ingredients in it helps in keeping the body warm and also varieties of vegetables are consumed by one as it is available seasonally.

Undthiyo is a delicious dish which can be served with puri, phulka.  I tried my hands on it for the first time and was happy with the result as it tasted "Awesome"

While speaking about mix seasonal  vegetables,  Undhiyo is somewhat like the  South Indian Kavathu Puzhuku or Thalagam  (minus the Methi Muthia) made by Keralites and Tamilians during Thiruvathira along with  Thiruvathira Kali.   In Undiyo,surti papadi is used, whereas for the South Indian version, papadi i.e avarakka is used.

 I have posted both the above recipes and let us look at the undiyo  recipe now:

MANATHAKALI VATHAL KUZHAMBU, BLACK NIGHT SHADE KUZHAMBU

Manathakali keerai, sukuti keerai or black night shades in english is very good healing stomach related ailments.    It is also known as Sunberry and Wonderberry.

The fruit as well as the leaves are having the medicinal values.  The raw fruit is soaked in curd and salt and sun dried for storing.  it remains for a longer period.  whenever you want can fry it and serve with rice, curd rice etc. or can use for vathal kuzhambu.

During our childhood, we used to pluck the fruit and pop it in our mouth though it does not have any kind of particular taste.  After moving to Mumbai, I used to see this plant on the compound wall or in the backyard of our office building.  Whenever, I get a chance to see this plant, I somehow remove it and bring home to replant the same in my balcony garden.  Same case, goes with sundakkai also.

Once I gave the ripe fruit to my son and he loved it.  Still he remembers  though he is 24 year old, eats it and tell his sister that you do not know the taste of it as she refuses to eat it.  When we were  very small, we used to call it chinna thakali (means small tomatoes).  I have seen an light orange variety during my childhood, but now a days, cannot see them.  We also had a purple colour chilli plant in our garden when we were small and used to wonder from where the seeds come from.

Coming back to the manathakali, after plucking the raw fruit from the plant, always put in salt water for washing as there could be some small insects in it.  If you put in salt water, it dies and can be removed after straining in the poori jaara.

We make poriyal, kootu, molagootal  etc.with the leaves but you need a sizeable quantity of leaves.  We make soup out of this and is excellent with coconut milk.  Even you can feed the children too as it will have mild sweet flavour because of the coconut milk which is again good for the stomach.

 I have posted  the photographs of the plant, raw fruit and the ripe fruit below.

click here: video

CHENA VARUVAL, YAM CHIPS

Potato chips, banana chips or Yam chips, we like to have it with rice and sambar, rasam or with curd rice.  This can be served with coffee/tea or just have it as it is.  I remember during feasts, kaippakka-kondattam-bitter-gourd-vathal and chena varuval are  the important items in the banana leaf.

Chena means Yam, Suran.  Like we make the banana chips, Yam also can be fried very crispy.  If you do not want to deep fry, you can put them in the kadai and keep stirring occasionally for sometime, you will get crispy chips but it is bit time consuming.  However, both ways, it is quite tasty.

MURINGAPOO MOLAGOOTAL, DRUMSTICK FLOWER MOLAGOOTAL

I am a nature lover and wherever I go, I always bring one plant, seed or a branch to plant it either in my balcony garden or in the society.  Today, as I was coming  from Happy Street from Upvan Lake, I happened to see the drumstick tree with full of flowers.  I could not resist myself from plucking one branch of the drusmtick plant and brought home.  I used the flowers with leaves  for making molagootal and planted the branch in my society which I was longing for quite some time.

Molagootal is a mild spicy dish with any vegetables or leafy vegetables with either moong, masoor or tur dal with coconut, roasted urid dal, fried red chilli and cumin seed paste added to the vegetables or leafy vegetables.    We can serve it along with phulkas, chapatis and rice.

Let us look at the recipe now:

PALAK KOFTA CURRY

I like green leavy vegetables prepared  in a simple way along with curd rice very much.  Spinach has a sweet flavour and is rich in vitamins A and K, folate, iron.   We can add the same while making omlete or in paratha, adai, dosa etc.  Puris are another option to mix this.

Since so many days, I wanted to try the palak kofta curry but somehow, could not try it.  Yesterday after coming from the office, I made it a point that I must make it and serve it along with hot phulkas which is made by my maid very late so that we are able to relish the same hot.

As I had planned and the ingredients were available, it was bit easy for me to organise it quickly for making the same.  Though it took some time to prepare it, the end product was really yummy.

BHEL KURMURA VAZHATHANDU SABUDANA FRYUMS

Bhel, the street food of Mumbai who does not know about it and are very rare that one has not tasted this when they come to Mumbai.  I used to make sweet kurmura with it for my children whenever they wish to eat as they love them.

Recently I posted the Aralu Sandige i.e Puffed rice fryums.  The curiosity to try with bhel  kurmura was there ever since I tried the Aralu Sandige.  Since I am making this for the first time, I thought  I will try it with one cup of kurmura.  Vazhathandu (banana stem) we always chop finely and put in the killu karuvadam when we make it during summer.  So I thought of adding the chopped banana stem in this.  While making it, it was not binding properly so I added 2 tbsp of sabudana which was kept for making sabudana kichadi.

Since the first attempt was successful, I thought of posting the same here as I wanted to share with you all because you all will love them to have with a cup of coffee/tea or with rice, sambar, rasam or with tomato rice etc.

ONION FLOWER SUBZI

When my cousin contacted me long time back to give her recipe for making subzi with onion flower.  I was quite surprised that onion flowers are available in the market.  Seriously, I have not seen them before till such time, I bought it yesterday from the vegetable vendor.

When she asked me about the recipe, I told her to explain to me how it looks like and honestly, I searched in google but could see varieties of onion flowers and was stunned to see the colourful pictures.  However, I gave her the recipe comparing the same with the green onion or known as spring onion subzi.

When I got them yesterday, I decided to make the subzi with potato and the fresh onions from the spring onion.  It was quite tasty and loved  it along with the phulkas and rice.

One must adopt the practice of including greens in their diet atleast once in a week. greens are always good for health.  video

FLAX SEED THOGAYAL, CHUTNEY

Flax seed has got many health benefits.  It helps in reducing the bad cholesterol in the body.  It can be consumed as it is or in the form of chutney, powder, thogayal or can mix it in the roti flour while making roti.   I had shared the recipe of flaxseed chutney with  www.simpleindianrecipes.com: flaxseed chutney.

Flax seed also linseed is an excellent source of two fatty acids that are essential for human health - linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid," but also, an excellent source of fiber and a good source of minerals  dietary fiber, mnganese, vitamin B1, Omega.

<sup>It also helps in prevention of hot flashes, controlling blood sugar, cholesterol etc.  One must always remember when you  have some advantages, there is also disadvantages.  Side effects associated with flax seed consumption are Flatulence, stomach pain, Nausea, constipation, diarrhea and bloating.  These are the information after browsing through the net.

Any item consumed moderately does not have much side effects.  Since I have triglycerides more, I made it a point to add one teaspoon flaxseed powder in the chapati atta every day.</sup>

I have already posted  in my blog  the flax seed  idli.  pumpkin, flaxseed gun powder, instant flaxseed dosa.


Here I am presenting another variety of thogyal/chutney which goes well with dal rice, dahi rice, dosa, idli etc.

AMLA WAFER, NELLIKKA VARUTHATHU

We all are familiar with the Amla chutneys, pickles and jams or murabbas, juice, amla supari etc.  This Indian Gooseberry may not be liked by everyone due to its taste, but this wonderful fruit has got many health benefits.

You can have eat this raw, put in salt water and keep.  whenever you want, remove and make arachukalaki with coconut and green chilli with little curd.  this one is my favaourite.

This is also known as Amlakka or Amlakai or Amla, Avla etc..  Other names are Usiri Kaya in Telugu, Nellikkai in Tamil and Nelli in Malayalam.   It is rich in Calcium. The health benefits are linked here:

Recently, one of my friend told me that they used to slice the amla very thinly and sun dry the same and make raita out of it.  I just want to try this hence I had purchased 250 gms of this amla and kept for drying.

I was bored and could not get sleep in the afternoon, I thought I will try making wafer of this. You will not believe it was quite tasty.  Those who love to eat amla will definitely like this for a change.  You may feel strange, but it is worth trying.

BHEL KURMURA UPMA

Upma is served for breakfast as well as in the evening along with a cup of tea or coffee.  We make various kinds of upma viz. suji, lapsi etc.  Since I was bored of eating the regular stuff, I thought of making the kurmura upma.  It is pending since long in my list so I tried this and was quite tasty.

Other varieties of upma:
vari tandulachi upma
vegetable upma
adai upma
methi leaves upma
sevai rava upma
tomato upma
bread semiya upma
kuthiravali rava upma
roti upma
sabudana khichadi


video

RADISH GREEN SUBZI

Greens are always good for health.  I always try to make use of the greens of radish, beetroot, colacasia, knol khol etc.   Here I have used the greens of radish and made a simple dry subzi out of it.

TAMARIND SEED DOSA

I have already posted tamarind seed gun powder.  Now I tried the dosa and was quite tasty like the normal dosa.

You have to take little pain to prepare the seeds as you have to roast it, remove the outer skin and soak it.  Bit tedious process but for a change, worth trying it.

ARALU SANDIGE, PUFFED RICE FRYUMS, NEL PORI VADAM

Aralu Sandige is made with Nel Pori  (puffed rice) and white pumpkin and with some spices in it.    In Kannada  Aralu, and Nel pori in Malayalam or Tamil.  It is very easy to make, sun dry  and  store it.

Recently I visited one of my neighbour who has shifted from our building to far away place.  It was during the Sankranti time and as she was giving me the Haldi kumkum and  the til gul laddu, my eyes were looking at the aralu sandige which she had kept for sun drying.

At first I could not figure out as to what it was so i asked her out of curiosity.  She explained me the recipe and gave some sandige.  I came home and fried the same and really liked it. You can serve it with  Sambhar rice, rasam rice, bisibela bhath etc or with a cup of tea.

Aralu sandige, Puffed rice fryums, nel pori vadam

 video here

RAAB with rice and curd

Raab is a traditional healthy drink during winter.  It helps in building immunity and soothing when you have cough and cold.  This dish is prepared by Gujaratis and Rajasthanis  specially and served to the nursing moms.

The ingredients used in this helps in building immunity and keep the body warm during winter.

Normally, it is made with bajra flour, jaggery, soonth powder and little bit cumin powder and ghee. will be posting this recipe soon.  However, I am giving you a savory version of Raab with rice and curd which my neighbour gave me once when I was having high temperature and it was really really awesome to have hot hot raab at that time. .  I have made slight variations  from the original recipe and made the same with little variation.

STUFFED BHINDI

I have made the stuffed bhindi several times, but today only I realised that I have not posted the simple, easy and tasty recipe on my blog.

Okra or bhindi has got medicinal values the prominent one is it controls the blood sugar level and cholesterol.  If the bhindi is put in  water overnight after after trimming both the sides and the next day morning the water is consumed on empty stomach, it helps in controlling your diabetics.

Besides the medicinal values, each and every items has got its own taste and we make it more tasty by adding the masalas in it.  Here comes a simple recipe stuffed bhindi with a simple curry powder.

TAMARIND SEED RICE

I have posted recently Tamarind Seed Gun Powder.  With the same gun powder, I prepared the rice which was quite tasty with the raw tomato raita and papad.  The heath benefits are also mentioned in the said recipe.


It is quite easy to make and you will enjoy the rice as you enjoy the other rice varieties.

TAMARIND SEED GUN POWDER

I  am bringing back my child hood memories in this blog by posting this recipe.  In our child hood,we used to roast the tamarind seed, break the outer cover and eat it.  You have to keep the same in your mouth for sometime and with the help of saliva, it becomes soft.  We really used to enjoy the same by not frying it in the kadai, but put it in the charcoal after cooking our food, then remove it from the fire, break it with a stone.

We also used to enjoy the tamarind mixed with red chilli, salt, jaggery and bit of coconut oil and make a lolly pop with the stick and enjoy.  Another interesting one is break the raw mangoes on the treee itself, fill with chilli powder, salt and eat it.

Coming back to the recipe now, since the seeds are edible, I thought of  making something out of it.  I tried making the gun powder with it and did not feel that I am eating the tamarind seed gun powder.

When you fry the seed, you will get nice aroma somewhat like peanut.   You must ensure that it is not burnt as the taste will differ.   After browsing through the net, I got some interesting information about the health benefits of the seed which  I am writing after the recipe.

MIRCHI KA RAITA

Mirchi ka raita is prepared with the large green chilli or bharwan mirch it is known as.  We can make nice bhajias out of this stuffed with potato masala.

When I saw the fresh green chilli with the veg vendor, I could not resist myself from buying this.  However, I made it with only one chilli and rest, i used for bhajias.  This goes well with rice as well as parathas.  I had made green peas paratha and served with it.

VAZHATHANDU BHAJIA, BANANA STEM BHAJIA

BANANA STEM OR VAZHATHANDU BHAJJI OR BHAJIA IS QUITE TASTY.  IT CAN BE SERVED AS AN EVENING SNACK.

FEW BENEFITS ARE GIVEN BELOW;

Health benefits of the juice:  Apart from helping to remove the stones from gall bladder, it also helps in reducing the weight, hyper acidity, people who are suffering from constipation, for diabetic patients and effective fro treating urinary tract infections.

Since it is bit time consuming to clean and cut the same, you can cut and store the same in fridge by putting it in the butter milk.  But I recommend always use fresh ones.

Banana stem has got many health benefits, the most important one is to prevent the kidney stone.  If you take juice of the same in the empty stomach, you will be relieved from the trouble of kidney stone.

We can make various dishes out of this.  Since so many days, I wanted to make bhajia out of this.  recently I made sabudana banana stem vada.  we can make poriyal,pachadi, raita etc. out of this.  We also use this for making killu karuvadam.

video is already uploaded. Link is Vazhathandu Bhajia

 banana stem sambhar, banana stem chutney,  banana stem kofta kadhi, banana stem kofta sambhar, banana stem thoran